Reel Women

Quick! Name a female director in Hollywood. Yes, there are a handful of very good ones, and their ranks are finally growing, but to think that '40s bombshell Ida Lupino took her first turn behind the cameras in 1949 is a revelation in mid-century feminism that gives new meaning to the term "chick flick." One of her first films as a director, 1950's Outrage, which deals with rape and which she also co-wrote, was the first in a series of woman-made movies screen this month at the Denver Central Library under the mantle of Ch'telaine: Women Directors in Film. A worthwhile glorification of women's contributions to the art of filmmaking, the series is hosted by film-meister Walter Chaw as part of the Denver Public Library's Fresh City Life program.

"She had to really struggle with the creative side of her life," says Fresh City Life director Chris Loffelmacher of Lupino, adding that she is a personal favorite of Chaw's. "In terms of women making inroads, Ida was a trailblazer. She definitely knew how to swing a camera."